Growth performance of Barbonymus schwanenfeldii (Lampam) fry feeding different protein content diets
Introduction
Lampam or Tinfoil Barb (Barbonymus schwanenfeldii) is categorized under the family of Cyprinidae that is an important freshwater fish mostly found in tropical and sub-tropical areas including Borneo, Peninsular Malaysia, and Sumatra. It is found in rivers and lakes with a pH ranging from 6.5 and 7.0 and the temperature ranging from 20.4 to 33.7ºC. The average weight of Lampam is 200 - 600 g and its size range between 10 and 25 cm. It is estimated that if a specific diet is provided Lampam may reach a size of 30 centimeters and its weight may exceed up to 1.0 kg. Lampam is the fast-breeding fish with two cycles in a period of 15 months. Males of all sizes possess mature testes while female fish heavier than 160g have mature ovaries throughout the year. Mostly they colonize the rivers while often they move to the open water of the lake. Lampams are dependent on insects, filamentous algae, and debris. The fish is very popular among localities due to its tasty meat, and it has gained economic importance. Its meat is highly valuable and marketed on a high price that makes it important for aquaculture especially in lakes, ponds and aquariums (Mansor Mat et al. 55).
Keeping these issues in mind, the growth rate, survival rate, and FCR (feed conversion ratio) of B. schwanenfeldii (Lampam) were analyzed through feeding them different diets with diverse levels of protein in a controlled environment.
The effect of Protein diet on growth
The results of this 90-day experiment included three types of treatments which involve the supply of three different types of food to the fish containers at three different life stages. The first type of diet was TP0 that contained 32% protein content; the second was TP1 containing 28% protein while the third diet was TP2 containing 23% protein. The growth rate of the fish was observed significantly different (P<0.05) for the three different types of proteinaceous diets which indicated that the protein content in a diet imposes significant influence on the growth rate of Lampams. As it can be seen in figure 4, the highest bar is associated with the TP0 diet enriched with the highest protein content of 31%. The highest difference was observed for TP0 while no big difference was seen between TP1 and TP2.
The survival rate did not differ significantly amongst the three treatments. These findings have been parallel with other studies such as Sealey and co-workers also found that survival rate was not affected by either protein-rich diet or the protein level in the diet. Furthermore, they concluded that the fish meal should be a highly digestible protein source containing a proper ratio of specific amino acids and an inappropriate ratio of amino acids in the fish diet may contribute to the lower performance of the fish (Sealey et al. 320-324). Another study conducted by Eslamloo et al. (489-495) showed that daily and regular feed intake imposes significant effects on the growth of Tinfoil Barb. Therefore, it was found the results concluded in this study have been similar to other previous studies. The present experiment concluded that the fish, B. schwanenfeldii (Lampam) could be cultured in the diets containing 31% protein, in a controlled environment.
Effects of temperature
Water temperature of surroundings is an important parameter that can determine the body temperature of a fish as well as its food consumption, growth rate, FCR and other activities (Abu Rashid 10). According to previous studies the suitable temperature for fish survival is 25 to 32 ºC and most of the fish show the highest growth and FCR around the comparatively higher temperature. During the experiment, the effect of temperature was thoroughly analyzed on the growth of Lampam. The temperature maintained during the whole experiment was ranging from 24-26 (ºC) (Abu Rashid 10).
The findings of the experiment showed that the water quality parameter including temperature did not impact the growth of the B. schwanenfeldii. The previous studies have shown that the optimum temperature for adult, fry, and juvenile may vary. The comparative analysis showed that not a slight difference existed among all the three values ranging from 24.9 to 25 ºC which is only a difference of 0.1 ºC. An optimal temperature value enhances the FCR and growth of fish. Moreover, it is seen that the juvenile of all fish species grow rapidly until the temperature reaches an optimal value while growth rate decreases with the decrease in temperature. The relation of temperature and growth is associated with the proportional relation of the high metabolic rate with temperature. As the temperature elevates the metabolism increases leading to an enhanced rate of growth which also increases food demand and FCR (Abu Rashid 10-11).
In this experiments, no significant effect was seen that may be due to several other reasons including the possibility of touching the optimal temperature value or the difference between the optimum temperatures for all three types of fish.
Effects of Dissolved Oxygen (mg/L) concentration
Oxygen is a mandatory factor that determines the survival potential of fish and helps in maintaining a sustainable and healthy environment for fish survival. It has been confirmed by previous studies that the quantity of DO in water is directly associated with feeding behavior and performance. Lowered DO may result in lethargy leading to decreased swimming and feeding in fish (Tarmizi 5).
In this experiment maintained DO had been 0-7.2 (mg/L), and the result showed that the water DO did not influence the growth of the B. schwanenfeldii. According to Tarmizi (5), the most suitable DO concentration for most of the fish is 7 to 9 mg/L. For a freshwater fish of tropical water, the required minimum DO is 5 mg/L (80% saturation) that is required for their healthy development, tissue restoration, and reproduction. It is observed that the DO level below the required level may result in stress and death of fish (Tarmizi 5).
In this experiment, the maintained DO level is kept between 0-7 mg/L which also exceeded the required DO level by Lampam. But no significant effects could be observed on the growth due to increased DO concentration. Though previous studies have demonstrated that increased DO may enhance growth rates, and lower FCR. Decreased DO leads to decreased respiration and feeding activities (FCR). On the basis of this evidence the increased DO should have a good impact on the growth rate and FCR of Lampams. The findings of this experiment are contradicting with the previous findings that may be due to several other reasons including erroneous data collection or mishandling of data.
Effects of water pH
pH alterations play a major role in determining the water quality and fish mostly tend to live in neutral pH waters in comparison to acid water. Lower fish abundance and biodiversity are observed in acid waters. High pH may impose negative impacts on fish behavior, like disturbed reproductive capabilities as well as reduced viability of eggs (Abu Rashid 10-11).
On the other hand, low water pH may augment the toxicity of pollutants to fish. In this experiment, the pH of the water was also analyzed to investigate its effects on fish growth rate and FCR. Different fish species possess different pH tolerance, and the most accepted appropriate pH is ranging from 6.5 to 9.0. The pH maintained throughout the experiment has been in the range between 5.9 and 6.8, though the results of this study showed that pH also did not impact the growth of B. schwanenfeldii. Effects of the levels of water pH in the different treatments during the experimental period demonstrated the highest value for TP2 while lowest for TP0, thus not a significant impact of pH could be observed on the growth rate. The highest protein content diet TP0 showed the lowest pH value below 6, while TP2 it was 6.4 to 6.5 pH. The survival rate of Lampam juvenile has been observed comparatively average at pH 6.5, 5.5 and 4.5, while FCR was not observed significantly different at these pH (Abu Rashid). Thus, the results of this study provided valuable insights regarding the effects of pH, temperature and DO on the growth rate and FCR of Lampam fish. It will be highly helpful for culturing B. schwanenfeldii for commercial purposes.
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